1984-85 NHL season
The 1984-85 NHL season was the 68th season of the National Hockey League. Twenty-one teams each played 80 games. The Edmonton Oilers won their second straight Stanley Cup by beating the Philadelphia Flyers four games to one in the final series. This was the first year since they began broadcasting that CBC was not the lone network broadcaster in Canada. While Molson continued to present Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights, rival brewery Carling O'Keefe began airing Friday night games on CTV. The two networks split the playoffs and finals. Regular season The Philadelphia Flyers had the best record in the NHL, a mere four points ahead of second place Edmonton Oilers. Oilers' star Wayne Gretzky once again won the Art Ross Trophy by reaching the 200 plateau for the third time in four years. He also set a new record for assists in a season with 135 and won his sixth straight Hart Trophy. Mario Lemieux made his NHL debut by scoring 100 points and winning the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year. This season marked the true end for the 1960s in the NHL, as the last 2 players from that era, Butch Goring and Brad Park, retired after the playoffs. Goring was the last active, playing his last playoff game 3 days after Park's last game. Final standings ''Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes. Teams qualifying for the playoffs shown in bold.'' Prince of Wales Conference Clarence Campbell Conference Scoring leaders Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points Leading goaltenders Stanley Cup playoffs * Patrick Division Finals The Philadelphia Flyers ended the New York Islanders' string of five straight seasons in the Stanley Cup Finals by dispatching the club four games to one. Flyers goaltender Pelle Lindbergh registered a pair of shutouts, one in Game 1, and the other in the clinching Game 5, by a 1-0 score. * Adams Division Finals The Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens battled in a seven-game series. Bitter rivals from the province of Quebec, the Nords shocked the Habs in 1982, only to see a fourth-place Montreal club upset Quebec the year before. In the deciding Game 7 at the Montreal Forum, Peter Stastny scored the game and series winning goal, giving Quebec an improbable 3-2 overtime win and berth in the Wales Conference Finals. * Norris Division Finals The Chicago Blackhawks simply outscored the Minnesota North Stars in an offensive-minded six-game series that featured 61 total goals. * Smythe Division Finals Defending Cup champion Edmonton was too much for the Winnipeg Jets, sweeping them in four straight games and doubling their goal total. * Wales Conference Finals Although the Flyers held the best record in the NHL with 53 wins and 113 points, the Adams Division held a better record against the Patrick Division, so the Wales finals began in Quebec City. Philly and Quebec split the first four games, then the Flyers edged the Nordiques, 2-1, in Game 5. Game 6 in Philadelphia was a tour-de-force for the Flyers, outshooting Quebec 36-15, and winning 3-0. Flyers captain Dave Poulin's two-man disadvantage shorthanded goal early in the second period was the deciding factor in the contest. The team returned to the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time since 1980. Unfortunately, the win came at a high cost, as both 54-goal forward Tim Kerr and defenseman Brad McCrimmon would be lost for the remainder of the playoffs with injuries. * Campbell Conference Finals The Oilers steamrolled the Blackhawks in a six-game series which broke all sorts of records for total offense. Edmonton won the first two games at home by 11-2 and 7-3 scores, only to see Chicago strike back at home with 5-2 and 8-6 victories. However, Edmonton rebounded to blast the Hawks in the final two games, 10-5 and 8-2 to earn their third trip to the Cup Finals in as many years. Edmonton set all-time playoff marks with most goals in one series, most goals in a six-game series, and both clubs set records with most total goals in a semifinal series and most total goals in one six-game series. * Finals Edmonton would lose the first game to the Flyers but would then take the next four to win their second straight Stanley Cup. Playoff bracket Finals Edmonton Oilers vs. Philadelphia Flyers Edmonton Oilers win series 4-1. NHL awards All-Star teams Debuts The following is a list of players of note who played their first NHL game in 1984-85 (listed with their first team, asterisk(*) marks debut in playoffs): *Joel Otto, Calgary Flames *Ed Olczyk, Chicago Blackhawks *Marc Bergevin, Chicago Blackhawks *Gerard Gallant, Detroit Red Wings *Esa Tikkanen*, Edmonton Oilers *Steve Smith, Edmonton Oilers *Kevin Dineen, Hartford Whalers *Ray Ferraro, Hartford Whalers *Sylvain Cote, Hartford Whalers *Ulf Samuelsson, Hartford Whalers *Garry Galley, Los Angeles Kings *Patrick Roy, Montreal Canadiens *Petr Svoboda, Montreal Canadiens *Stephane Richer, Montreal Canadiens *Greg Adams, New Jersey Devils *Kirk Muller, New Jersey Devils *Dave Gagner, New York Rangers *Grant Ledyard, New York Rangers *Kelly Miller, New York Rangers *Tomas Sandstrom, New York Rangers *Rick Tocchet, Philadelphia Flyers *Doug Bodger, Pittsburgh Penguins *Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins *Steve Thomas, Toronto Maple Leafs *Todd Gill, Toronto Maple Leafs *Petri Skriko, Vancouver Canucks *Al Iafrate, Washington Capitals *Kevin Hatcher, Washington Capitals *Dave Ellett, Winnipeg Jets Last games The following is a list of players of note that played their last game in the NHL in 1984-85 (listed with their last team): * Terry O'Reilly, Boston Bruins * Butch Goring, Boston Bruins * Craig Ramsay, Buffalo Sabres * Jerry Korab, Buffalo Sabres * Jim Schoenfeld, Buffalo Sabres * Real Cloutier, Buffalo Sabres * Bob MacMillan, Chicago Blackhawks * Brad Park, Detroit Red Wings * Colin Campbell, Detroit Red Wings * Darryl Sittler, Detroit Red Wings * Ivan Boldirev, Detroit Red Wings * Steve Shutt, Los Angeles Kings * Anders Hedberg, New York Rangers * Robbie Ftorek, New York Rangers * Rick Kehoe, Pittsburgh Penguins * John Garrett, Vancouver Canucks See also * List of Stanley Cup champions * 1984 NHL Entry Draft * 37th National Hockey League All-Star Game * National Hockey League All-Star Game * NHL All-Rookie Team * 1984 Canada Cup References *Hockey Database *NHL.com *Oiler playoff highlights